Weight of the Legate
by gh44444
Summary: After the successful defense of Whiterun the Imperial garrison makes its way back home at Fort Greymoor. The Legate in charge is not the average Legate. Both serving the Imperial Legion and the Penitus Oculatus. He rose through the ranks after demonstrating "courage and honor" when exterminating the vermin called the Dark Brotherhood. This is his story and his side of the war.
1. Chapter 1

_A cold pale winter night in Whiterun Hold. All villagers of Whiterun sleep peacefully this night as if yesterday's night attack by Stormcloaks was but a dream. If not for the Imperial Garrison at Fort Greymoor Whiterun who had fallen that night. If it were not for the brave commander, the Stormcloaks would have looted and burned Whiterun to the ground. Because of the bravery of so few, the villagers were spared and slept soundly, knowing the Dragon of Akatosh watched over them. For the soldiers that survived the battle, the march back to the fort was not filled with victorious screams and songs. Instead it was a grim and solemn watch. Unknown to the villagers, the garrison lost 70% of its troops in the fight with the overwhelming force of the Stormcloaks. The walk back to the fort was solemn and no one spoke out of both respect and the atmosphere. However there was some talk._

"So, how many did you kill." Whispered a guardsman to the ranger to his left.

The ranger looked up from the ground and met the guardsman's eyes and said in a wavering voice, "Not enough." The ranger looked back to the ground.

"Come on Contos I didn't mean anything by it." The guardsman said in slight remorse. "We all lost some brothers and sisters this night. No sense to dwell on it."

The ranger looked back at the guardsman and gave him a smirk of understanding. _A steady rain starts to pour on the region. The rain clinks as it hits the heavy armored centurions that hold the front and rear of the column. In front of the column a lone rider on an armour clad horse leads the column. The lone rider holds the flag on the Legion in one hand and a bloody sack in the other. The guardsman leans his head out of the column, then pulls his head back and nudges the ranger._

"Hey, Contos what is the Commander doing with that sack?" _The ranger leans his head out then back._

"I have no clue." Contos replies. _From behind them a voice is heard._

"Thats where he keeps the commanders head". Someone behind them says.

"Who said that." The guardsman asks."Decius, you idiot."

 _The guardsman looks behind him to see an old nord centurion clad in full heavy imperial armor without the helm._

"I was only asking". The guardsman says meekly.

"Every Time the commander kills a high ranking enemy he takes the poor souls head and sends it to the Thalmor with a very dirty letter attached." Decius says with a big grin on his aged face.

 _The guardsman and the ranger both shudder at the thought. In almost a moment the column comes to a halt. The lone rider rides toward where the guardsman and ranger are. The rider comes off his horse planting the flag in the ground and dropping the sack on the soaked mud._ "Company 90 degrees left." The Lone rider yells in a thick dunmer accent. _At once the centurions turn to face the rider. The auxiliaries follow seconds after seeing the centurians. The rider stands hands behind his back and keeps his head up to the sky._

" You men have fought well." The rider says toward the sky in an almost sad way. _He now focuses attention on the wounded and looks at each one from behind his helm._ "As Commander of this fort it is my great honor that I have men such as you." He yells at the top of his lungs."If you were any other men you would have surely been defeated, but not my men!" He yells even louder. _He takes off his helmet and tosses it behind him in excitement. The night conceals his face as only his blue reptilian eyes shine in the darkness._ _The rain starts to fall heavier._ "You men deserve some time off. This week I relieve you of duty and you are freemen until the following week." The commander says in a voice full of excitement. _The men look in astonishment even the old veteran Decius. In a moment the sad column erupted in a great cheer as they hugged each other and kissed the ground. They had completely ignored the fact that the legate was an argonian or the fact that they were literally a foot deep in mud. Their sorrows drowned away in hearing the commanders sudden goodwill. The first week of winter was there's and there was nothing that stopped them from seeing their families and enjoying life._

 _In just about five minutes the commander was left alone just outside the entrance of Fort Greymoor surrounded by footsteps separating in different directions some towards towns and some towards the woods and wilderness. The commander picked up the flag and sack and walked alongside his horse inside the now vacant fort completely devoid of life. He tied up his horse in the stables and walked into the fort whistling "Age of aggression." He walked up the stairs into his room. He placed the bloody sack by the door and placed the dirty flag against the wall as he took of his bloodied armor. Taking off the armor his muscles reveal the multiple scars and wounds on his body including a tattoo that reads 'PROPERTY OF MISTRESS R' clearly imprinted in bright blue on his upper back. He walks toward his desk and places a parchment onto the surface and takes out an inkwell and quill. He writes 'SIEGE STOPPED MANY CASUALTIES NEED FRESH MEN-LEGATE WOLF.' He folds the message and ties it to the flag he then takes another parchment and writes 'HERE'S YOUR FUCKING PRISONER HOPE IT ROTS BEFORE REACHING YOU -LEGATE WOLF' and ties the letter to the know on the sack. He spits toward the sack as he gets up and moves to the cabinet. From the cabinet he takes out a book and a bottle of Argonian Bloodwine. He drinks from the bottle and starts to write down the names and ranks of all the men killed in combat. 60 names in all. The names fill up half the page. He looks sad as he realizes his 500 page book only has 2 pages remaining. He takes a huge drink from the bottle. He places the book back into the cabinet and drinks the rest of the wine then falls into bed half dressed with only his chestpiece and pauldrons taken off. A lone tear rolls down his face as he nods off to sleep._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Responsibility**

 _On the western side of Whiterun a party of Stormcloaks oversee the burying of the dead. At the front is a man with a helmet made from a giant's skull. The man stands just a little shorter than 10 feet. His armor bears the Stormcloak insignia with a wolf head right behind the bears. The head faces the other way with its fangs unsheathed. A lone rider comes towards them from the direction of Fort Greymoor._

"Sir a rider is coming from the south. Should I kill him?", a Stormcloak soldier asks the giant man.

 _The giant man turns to look towards the rider. He cracks a smile._

"No. Let him come. This is his time as much as ours. Even though he is the enemy to attack him now would bring dishonor upon the Stormcloak name.", The giant man replies.

 _The rider has reached the party of Stormcloaks. They put their hands on their weapons as the rider dismounts and unloads a bundle from the horse. The giant man raises his hand slightly to give the signal to stand down. The rider looks at the graves that were dug._

"Your men are laid over there, Wolf", The giant man says quietly.

 _Wolf looks up at the Giant man with a stern look._

"Don't worry. We may be at war, but I am a man of honor. Your men are not mutilated anymore than they were during the battle." The giant man says reassuringly.

 _Wolf's face changes from stern to at ease. He walks past the giant man with the bundle on his back. He stops at the are designated for the Imperials that fell in battle. 80 graves in total. Wolf puts the bundle on the ground and unrolls it to show freshly made swords. He picks up a few and plants them as headstones. The Stormcloaks party watch in awe as to make sense of the situation. Grown on the idea that the Imperials were heartless bastards that sent their men to battle without the faintest care for their safety. This scene broke that image completely. The Giant man however did not look in awe. Instead he looked in respect. Wolf completely ignores their looks. When all swords are placed he kneels before the 80th grave. He takes out the amulet of talos around his neck and rips it off. He places it in the grave of a soldier who is missing an arm and a leg. He removes the helmet from the soldier's head to reveal the still open bright blue eyes of a young woman. Her blonde hair, covered with dirt, still shines in defiance. Wolf closes the soldiers eyes and picks up a nearby shovel and covers the grave in dirt. The giant man chuckles to himself as he motions to the rest of his men they are leaving. Now alone Wolf buries the rest of him men. By midnight the graves are all covered. Wolf heads into Whiterun and into the Bannered Mare._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Past**

 _The Bannered Mare. Some could say it is the heart and soul of the city. Of course any place that gives lodging and ale could be called the heart of any city, but it is here that we find the Legate._

"Long day Wolf?" Hulda asks leaning on the counter.

"If that's what you could call it." Wolf replies taking a drink from his tankard of ale.

"Well from what I hear it could have gone way worse. You did a good job Wolf. Because of you I still have a home and business." Hulda says to him. "By the way you still haven't told me how an argonian like you joined the Legion?"

 _Wolf eyes open wide when he hears the question._ "I'm not sure…." He begins saying.

"Yes, I think we would all like to hear it." A voice says from the entrance to the tavern.

"O for the love of Dibella not you guys." Wolf says gritting his teeth.

 _From the entrance two soldiers enter. One wearing the traditional scouting armor of the Legion while the other wears heavy Centurion gear._

"Decius. Contos. Why are you idiots bothering me on my week off. The battles over and you guys should be with family. Decius don't you have a grandchild you should be caring of? And Contos I swear by Akatosh I'm tired of reading your mom's letters. Go visit the damn woman already." Wolf says then takes another swig from his tankard.

"My grandchild is fine. Besides my idiot of a daughter took them to Cyrodiil last month." Decius says with a big grin. " As of right now I don't have to look after the two little shits for a while."

"I already visited my mom. Didn't you know she lives in Whiterun Legate?" Contos says while blushing and looks down.

 _Wolf puts his elbow on the counter and rests his face on it._ "Great stuck with a shitty old man and an awkward virgin. Some night right Hulda?" Wolf says with a drunk grin. _Wolf looks into his tankard to see it's empty._ "Alright I'll tell you my Legion story". Wolf says.

 _Contos and Decius both put on big grins as they sit down on the benches near the fireplace. Wolf gets up staggers a little then straightens up. He looks around for a sec. He then shakes his head and sits on the bench next to Contos._

"Alright so to start it begins like most stories with a…" Wolf begins.

 _The entrance doors slam open. Revealing two figures in the dark with one giant one in the back._

"Can we drink here?" One figure says.

"If you got the coin." Hulda says unaffected by the mysterious figures.

"Thank you kinsman." The figure says as they enter.

 _The first figure wears the blue scarfed fur armor of the Stormcloak infantry. The second one wears a type of half-plate that covers his right arm but leaves everything else exposed. The third figure bends down to enter the tavern. A giant of a man who bears the insignia of a bear with a wolf behind it. The two smaller men sit by the counter. The giant man sits with the legionaries by the fire. He smiles a giant smile when he sees Wolf._

"Wolf. Long time no see. How you holding up" The giant man says.

 _Wolf still somewhat sober smiles._ "Holding up as fine as any man forced to bury his own daughter." Wolf replies in a seemingly happy tone.

"Coping with it terribly I see. As I had expected. No one comes and gets shit faced if they don't have some regret." The giant man replies.

"Yeah well what can you do. I lost one daughter to this war I won't lose my other." Wolf says and takes a sip of air from his empty tankard. " How are you coping general Sarngor?" Wolf says then grins.

 _The giant man looks surprised when he realizes another knows his name. He laughs loudly at the aspect._

"Not many know my name Wolf. I'm beginning to respect you more and more. You're definitely a step higher than the rest of the legates." Sarngor says. "However I did not just come here for idle chat. _His face grows serious._ I have heard many things about you Legate. I came here to hear if they are true. So please tell us a story." Sarngor says.

 _Wolf smirks at being shown this much attention._ "Alright, alright I'll tell you the story of my first ever mission for the empire. It was during my time as a Penitus Oculatus agent.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Downfall**

 _Two years ago._

"Welcome to the back agent. What news do you bring?", Commander Maro asks.

 _An agent kneels before the commander wearing full Penitus Oculatus equipment. However the thing that distinguishes him from the rest is the presence of a tail and leaves coming out of his head. He is sweating and is shown shivering due to fear._

"Bad news commander. It seems that there is a plot to kill the Emperor. I believe it's the.." Wolf stops as the commander puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Yes I know exactly who it is agent. The Dark Brotherhood." Commander Maro says softly. "Do you know their current location?"

"Yes Commander. They are located a short distance from Falkreath in a cave guarded by a speaking door. I believe the door is magical and requires a password for entrance." Wolf says.

"Don't worry about the door Wolf. The password is Silence my brother." Commander Maro says to Wolf. "Take 15 men and take care of this stain on Skyrim."

"By your will I will accomplish this task." Wolf replies confidently

 _Wolf leaves the outpost and grabs 15 oculatus agents and arrives at the sanctuary in 5 days time in a 10 ten journey. The men form a perimeter around the sanctuary entrance with their bows drawn._

"Remember men no survivors. If this is to end today then let it end today. Reports say there are five members currently residing here." Wolf whispers to the men as he walks along the perimeter.

"Isn't fifteen men a bit much for eight." An agent questions.

"Well one's an old man who can turn you inside out. Another is a werewolf. Then there is the shadowscale who can slit your throat without you even noticing. Oh there is also the leader who is by far an extremely dangerous woman. Oh and there is one that fucks unicorns. So yeah fifteen sounds about right" Wolf whispers back.

 _The men smirk at the last one._

"Trust me I'm not done yet. So get this apparently one of em is a child vampire. Sucks the blood right out of you." Wolf says.

"Only thing she can suck is my fat cock." An agent says.

 _Everyone chuckles including Wolf who tries to hold it back._

"Then there is the redguard. Nothing really special there. However the last one is the most feared one." Wolf says quietly.

"Is it a horse fucker. A dog fucker. Maybe it fucks khajiit?." An agent says.

 _Chuckles are heard. Wolf punches the agents head._

"No you idiot. It's the dovahkiin." Wolf says solemnly.

 _The men stop chuckling and a dead silence encompasses them. The once happy men are now stone faced._

"According to Maro we have a day to destroy the sanctuary. That is time enough for the plot to have completely gone through." Wolf says.

"I see so this is…" The agent stops talking as an old man is seen approaching the door.

"I got this". Wolf says as he walks out in the open.

 _Wolf walks into the open. He purposely snaps a twig to get the old man's attention. The old man turns around at first with disgust then surprise when he sees the symbol of the Oculatus. He looks Wolf in the eyes. Wolf raises his hand with a smirk on his face. In an instant the old man is littered with arrows. In the matter of 10 seconds they unleashed 60 arrows into the old man._

"Alright men up and at em. We go in to kill these monsters. I want two to stay out here and guard the entrance." Wolf yells the orders.

"What should we do with the body?" An agent questions.

"Nail it to that tree over there." Wolf replies.

 _Both the men exchange a smirk._

"Alright men fall in we do this fast and efficient." Wolf orders the men. "Wait. _The men stop in place_. If we want this done right we burn this place to the ground. We will erase their very existence!" Wolf yells.

 _The agents have smiles on their faces as they ready torches and pitch. They enter the sanctuary in full force. The Penitus Oculatus are not only made of up the most intelligent spies in the empire but also the most ruthless. The agents charge in and cut down Veezara and chop his head off. They chant 6. They rush to the next room. The first two who enter the room have their throats slashed by werewolf claws. The werewolf howls at them and they step back, but hold their shields up._

"Get Wolf! Get Wo-" The agent gets his throat slashed and falls to the ground choking on his own blood.

"What's happening!" Wolf comes from the back of the shield wall greatsword in hand.

"Sir a wer-wer-werewolf!" The agent fumbles to say."I've never seen a real one before" The agent looks in disbelief.

"I'll take care of it. Go back outside the "package" has arrived leave him and me alone." Wolf says grabbing the shoulder of the agent.

"Yes sir" The agent replies.

 _The shield wall disperses as they retreat out of the sanctuary leaving Wolf and the Werewolf alone._

"Funny. A wolf and another wolf fight each other. This is ironic somehow right?" Wolf asks the werewolf. "Right in this mode all you know is death and bloodshed right? So some on. _Wolf beckons the werewolf._ Let's do this."

 _The werewolf charges Wolf aiming for his throat. Wolf dodges the swipes easily even while being encumbered by heavy armor. The werewolf does a powerwolf downward slash with both claws. Wolf parries the blow and slashes the werewolfs stomach. The werewolf steps back reeling in pain. Wolf cleans the blood off the greatsword quickly and pulls a pouch from his skirt and dip his hand in it. His hand comes out sparkling and metallic looking. He brushes his hand on the sword. The werewolf realizing the weapon transforms back to human._

"Silver huh." Arnbjorn says exhausted

"Yes actually. A little concoction made by my friend who retired from the Dawnguard. He calls it quicksilver. It seems like it did a number on you." Wolf says gleefully.

"You won't win", Arnbjorn struggles to say.

"I know that. As always your "family" will sprout up somewhere else like rats, but we'll be there to stamp it out just as we are doing now." Wolf says cleaning his blade with a nearby cloth.

"I'm going to kill you." Arnbjorn says as he transforms back into a werewolf.

"Good I needed a new fur coat anyway." Wolf replies

 _They both charge each other. The duel ends before Arnbjorn even reaches Wolf. The quicksilver had done its part and had effectively wrecked his innards and made him lose an extreme amount of blood. Wolf stops mid charge to see as the werewolf fell to the ground. Without blinking an eye he begins to skin the werewolf. At this time the rest of the men return._

"Sir we are ba-" The agent stops to absorb what happened. "Sir we are back with the weapons."

 _In each of their hands they hold a crossbow made by the dawnguard._

"Good. Finish the rest. I'm not done with my prize yet." Wolf says while wiping his forehead. "Oh and if any surrender bring them to me. Unharmed of course."

"Understood sir. C'mon lads lets finish this and go home." The agent says.

 _The agent leave Wolf with the werewolf. An unknown amount of time passes before Wolf finally finishes the skinning process. At this time the men return._

"Nice pelt sir" The agent says.

"Thank you" Wolf replies. "Any want to surrender?"

"Unfortunately no sir. They all wanted to fight to the death. All in all we killed four members. The rest are unaccounted for. We have lost ten soldiers to this fight. Are we finally done sir?"

 _Wolf lets out a sigh._ "Yes your part is done. You can leave and tell the men at the front they can leave too. I'll stay here for a bit and clean up. Hopefully recover any useful documents." Wolf says solemnly.

"Thank you sir and good luck. The emperor smiles on us this day. You heard that boys! Let's get out of this hell hole!"

 _The men leave in a big ruckus knocking things over and looting the cabinets. Wolf ignores this breach of honor due to the weird nature of this mission. When the last man leaves Wolf explores the sanctuary. He walks into a room with a dead spider and dunmer. He looks at the spider. Shot in the head with multiple crossbow bolts. He then turns his attention to the dunmer. Shot in the arm multiple times. He uses his hand to feel both arms. Broken. He checks the legs. In the same situation. He puts his hand on his hips. The body has had its clothes torn in specific locations. Rape. Wolf turns over the body. 6 bolts to the stomach. Sadists. Other than the bodily harm the dunmer was quite beautiful Wolf thought to himself. He went through her pockets to find a parchment to address in Riften. A lover maybe? Possibly a child? Questions there were no longer answers too. Wolf puts the parchment in his skirt. Wolf hears the entrance door open. A visitor or a soldier? He hears a scream. Visitor. He rushes towards the front. Before him stands a young woman mid 20's maybe. She has red hair and wears a full set of iron armor. She kneels before the corpse of Veezra. Wolf moves closer as quietly as possible unsheathing his greatsword with great care. She quietly sobs as Wolf stops at a good striking distance. He squats down so that he would be at eye level with the girl._

"Who are you?" Wolf says as delicately as possible.

 _She does not hear. Wolf moves closer to the distance of sword striking distance._

"Who are you?" Wolf says as if he were talking to a child.

 _She does not hear and continues sobbing. Wolf puts his hand on her shoulder. She smack it away and kicks him to the ground. Wolf gets up quickly and picks up his greatsword. She in turn draws her sword and shield. Before Wolf moves forward she opens her mouth._

"FUS RO DAH!" She shouts.

 _A force comes from her mouth and blows Wolf back into the wall. She runs forward and tries a jump attack on Wolf. Wolf regains himself in time to block the attack. He grins as he shifts her sword to her shield side. She swings at him wildly. She is obviously a novice fighter. Wolf blocks every attack and parry's the last one. The parry knocks the sword from her hand. She tries to look up at Wolf, but he uses the back of his hand to smack her. The force sends her face to the ground. Wolf exploits this and puts his knee on her back and grabs her hair pulling her head back. He uses his body weight to keep her in place and holds her head up to expose her neck. She struggles with the force of a baby sheep. She is super weak compared to an Oculatus agent. Her struggle ceases when Wolf puts the greatsword against her throat. All they do is breathe heavily. Wolf unsure of what to do next knocks her out with the pummel of the sword. He proceeds to drag her out of the Sanctuary by her hair. He drags her all the way to Falkreath. It's night by this time._

"Hey what are you doing with that body." The guard yells as he sees a figure in the darkness with the sound of dragging.

 _Wolf moves into the light revealing his armor and thus his status._

"Careful kinsman. Know who you talk too. Oh and this. _He points to the girl._ This belongs in a jail cell. I don't know how but she shouted at me." Wolf says exasperated.

"Is that the dragonborn! You beat the dragonborn!" The guard looks in astonishment.

 _Wolf looks indifferent to this information. Without saying a word he drops the body in front of the guardsman and walks back into the night._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Revelation**

 _The present_

"And that's how it went. When I got back to the outpost I asked to be reassigned to a war unit. My status and skills allowed me to be promoted to Legate instantly. They gave me the crumbling fort of Greymoor as a test and now it's the strongest fort in all of Whiterun hold." Wolf says completely sober at this point.

 _During the story people from all over Whiterun came to hear it. The Mare was packed with citizens who had come to hear the Legates story._

"Haha" Sarngar laughs. "You really are an interesting Lizard! I'm going to be keeping an eye on you Legate. Men we are going!"

 _Sarngar leaves laughing while his men follow behind him. After Sarngar leaves a lot of people disperse. Contos and Decius say their goodbyes to the Legate as they leave in the direction of Greymoor. Only Saadia, Lucia, Wolf, and Hulda are left in the bar._

"Saadia you can rest now I can clean up." Hulda says

"Thank you mum. Goodnight Wolf. Great story." Saadia says and winks at Wolf

 _Wolf looks surprised._

"If you looked you would be surprised how many women love you in this town." Hulda says. "Saving the town makes you a hero."

 _Wolf chuckles at the thought. He looks over at Lucia who has fallen asleep on a chair._

"Hulda the usual please." Wolf says while looking at Lucia.

"You're a good man Wolf. A very good man." Hulda says as she takes a bag of coin from Wolf.

 _Wolf moves over to Lucia and picks her up. She clings onto one of the straps on Wolf's armor. Wolf carries her up the stairs into the upstairs bed. He gently places her on the bed and removes the top half of his armor. He leaves it at the foot of the bed. He climbs into bed with Lucia. She half wakes up._

"Dad is that you" Lucia asks.

"Yeah its me Lucy." Wolf responds

"Are you going to stay this time." Lucia asks

"You know I have to be up early to protect you. I oversleep for 1 minute and I won't be able to protect you." Wolf says

"I know just checking." Lucia says then nods off.

 _Wolf smiles and pats her head. He sleeps with his chest facing the ceiling. He stares into the darkness and then closes his eyes. He nods off to sleep with a smile on his face._


End file.
